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Toyota, MLK Commission Create Teaching Scholarships For Men Of Color

Joey Palacios
/
Texas Public Radio
Employees of Toyota and members of the MLK Commission

To bring more young men of color into the teaching workforce, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas and the City’s MLK Commission are creating two scholarships for students at Texas A&M San Antonio.  

The two scholarships are a result of the city’s commitment to President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Initiative.  My Brother’s Keeper aims to connect men of color to role models and opportunities. District 2 City Councilman Alan Warrick says both scholarships will make it possible for men of color to become teachers.

“Toyota is specifically looking for youth living in the Promise Zone  where as the MLK Commission scholarship could be any minority student around Bexar County.”

The Promise Zone is an area on the East Side of San Antonio selected by President Obama for economic improvement. Mario Lozoya, government affairs director at Toyota, says the company wants to see more men of color as role models for students of color in the future.

“So our intent is to build teachers that look like them to be the role models and the teachers to help them with those issues as they go through school.”

The scholarships are for four years, capping out at about $27,000.  The recipient must attend a community college for the first two years before attending Texas A&M University at San Antonio.

Information on the scholarships will be posted on the A&M San Antoniowebsite.

Joey Palacios can be reached atJoey@TPR.org and on Twitter at @Joeycules